I love when I have a second shooter at a wedding with me. I frequently travel for weddings and have a very unique schedule, so it doesn’t always work to bring someone along… and honestly I have photographed the majority of weddings on my own. That doesn’t change the fact that when I do have someone working with me, it’s usually very helpful.

A second shooter can be added in to a wedding photography package so that additional coverage takes place for the whole event. Shooting in two different places allows images to be captured like the one you see above (shot by Kaylan Buteyn for me at Brendan+Stephanie’s wedding). I would highly recommend this for weddings that are larger events, or if you just want additional coverage. They also help carry gear around, set up any lighting, and organize bridal parties and families (large groups take extra help).

So, how do I find second shooters or assistants? It’s usually people that I know and are familiar working with. I wouldn’t bring a complete stranger with me because I can just imagine the horror stories I would be telling afterward. That being said, if you are someone who would like to work with me and join me for some weddings, let me get to know you and see if you’d be a good fit to work with. Email me at hello{at}marydougherty.net with your name, location, experience, $ requirements, and a few samples of your work and I’d love to talk! If you think you would be interested in interning I would love to hear from you as well, although at this point I can’t promise any credit fulfilling positions but perhaps we can work something out in the future.

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It was the eve of Dawn’s birthday when David proposed. He gave her a present and inside was an engagement ring that he designed and Dawn said yes. They set about preparing for their wedding and their marriage, which if anything is an adventure. So, last month on a rainy spring day, I joined them in Arlington, Virginia for their wedding.

Some gorgeous florals took center stage at the reception, where a lot of the decorations were handmade by David and Dawn. Curly willow came from the mother of the bride’s backyard in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and stood as beautiful mini trees in the center of each table. Since David is a carpenter he made the centerpiece boxes that they stood in, and the gorgeous multi-tiered cupcake stand.

See that amazing cupcake stand? I think all of the kids, including the ring bearer below, were amazed by the display of dessert :)

After the wedding and reception, I headed into the district for some photos of David and Dawn with a true DC backdrop. It was steadily raining, so we brought out umbrellas and shot some romantic images… rain just tends to lend itself to a really interesting and romantic backdrop. (have you seen the new pride + prejudice?)

We had some fun with the umbrella as well of course, and I think they pulled it off perfectly… it’s always important to have fun when you’re taking pictures.

…and after all the pictures they were off on their honeymoon to Brazil!!  Thanks for braving the rain and I think the pictures are totally worth it. I’ve had such a good time getting to know you both and it’s a been a privilege to photograph your engagement + wedding. View the slideshow below to see a more complete overview of the day, and then check out the full gallery of images. Just register and then use D+D’s last name to enter their gallery. Comments left on this post will help them earn a free print, so leave them a note or let me know what you think!

Hey everyone! Maybe you’re participating in this already, but if not, here’s your chance to take off your shoes and raise awareness for everyone who doesn’t have a choice of going barefoot. TOM’s shoes has declared today, April 8th, one day without shoes and I’m joining with them. I know it’s a little ironic that I got a pedicure for my birthday so my feet are extra pampered… but in some ways that’s exactly the kind of contrast that brings awareness to a day like today. It’s something that you may not think about until it’s gone, and I’m amazed by a company like TOM’s who has based their business and mission upon serving others. While there are a lot of non-profit’s that have adopted this mission, there very few businesses that have done so. It’s something we can all be challenged by – not only to reach out and serve others but to incorporate those kinds of actions into our daily lives. wow. that just blew my mind. What is perhaps even more amazing is that TOM’s has leveled the playing field, and something that has caught on as a fashion trend is also being worn by children in developing countries.

So, remember how in my birthday list I also said I wanted to have some awesome giveaways on my blog? Well I think this is the perfect time to start. Just cause I love you guys I’m going to buy a pair of TOM’s for one lucky commenter. How do you win? Comment on this post – today – and let us all know where you would wear your TOM’s, or who would wear the TOM’s you win and what size they’d wear. Maybe you want to wear them to your wedding, get them for your baby (they are super cute), live in them all summer long… I don’t know, you tell me and at midnight I’ll pick a random number to decide our winner. So get commenting, share this with your friends, and take off your shoes (until I send you some TOM’s to put on)

There’s no bigger compliment than having someone refer me. I appreciate so much when a couple – their parents, a friend – takes the time to share their experience and photos and recommend someone work with me. There’s also something about that connection that puts people at ease. It takes away some of the doubt of “who is this person” when you’re able to draw upon first hand experience. This may sound crazy but it works the same way for me. When I am able to work with such amazing clients I can only hope they will send their friends of similar taste to me.

I value the friends you refer to me so much that I’m officially enacting my 2010 referral program. This applies to everyone – you don’t have to be a current client to take part in this so everyone really wins. So before you fall off the edge of your seat, let me tell you how it works:

1. Tell your friends who are engaged to contact me
2. Your friend contacts me, mentions your name, and books their wedding
3. You receive $100 print credit and your friend receives $100 print credit
4. Use your credit within 1 year on a new session

How does that sound- pretty simple, right? I really can’t have credits last forever and ever, which is why they must be used within a year. However, you can totally refer 7 friends (or more) and store up $700 of print credit for your next session if you’d like. Now, it’s a different story if I shot your wedding. If I’m your photographer and you refer a friend, you can use credits up to 1 year after the wedding on your own photos – yes your own photos! So, after the wedding, tell a few friends, and perhaps have enough credit to get that gallery wrapped canvas you’ve been eying. One year after your wedding, you will have to follow the normal rules like everyone else and apply the credit towards a new session… but then you can do an adventure bridal session, some updated family photos, or newborn pictures when your baby is born!? haha I think I just got some stink eye on that last one.

Thank you so much to those people who have sent weddings to me in the past. I appreciate it so much and it really is what allows me to keep doing what I do. I love getting to know my brides + grooms and it is even more fun when I’m able to see them at other weddings as well. I look forward to working with more connections and sending you some prints + products in the process!

Not too long ago, before all of the snow, I headed north of Harrisonburg to Glenmont Farm. It was there that I met with Dee and Melissa and their daughters Gabby and Hannah. The girls were entering a new division of competition with their horses, so they needed some portraits to document this time. I know there are photographers who specialize in equestrian photography… and if you are one such person you will have to let me know how I did. While I don’t have that same expertise in horses, I brought my style and point of view to the shoot. As I learned one of the challenges was directing both girl and horse – while normally I am just thinking about people and their placement, expression, and actions, when you add in animals it’s a new game. The main concern was making sure the horses ears were forward, so we did a lot to get their attention. They are such gorgeous animals I felt lucky to do such a fun session, and it was thanks to Jodi Miller who referred me since she was out of town. Thanks Jodi!

Just so you could see what it looked like today I brought my camera out on a little family walk (Matt, Lexi + I) for some snapshots. Snapshots. I like that word because there’s something very simple and real about it… and that’s pretty much how these photos are. I had multiple layers on myself and a target plastic bag wrapped around the camera – it mostly kept the snow out, but it was still a challenge. To try and keep things simple, I started in aperture priority but of course the camera could not handle all of the white snow and was trying to make it gray. Gray? yes. Confused? Let me explain. To calculate the exposure for an image all cameras have light meters inside of them that measure how bright (or dark) scenes are. Cameras average the light in a scene so that it is middle (or appx. 18%) gray. While this usually works pretty well, it doesn’t in situations like the one I encountered today, where the scene is almost all white. For a better explanation, read this post I found.

To shorten the story, as I fumbled with my camera settings while trying to keep my hood on and the camera safe within the plastic bag (I’m pretty low tech in that way, I know) I ended up incorrectly exposing most of my pictures. When I got home they were much too dark, and therefore, very snapshot worthy. I did edit them to increase the exposure (which I think completely falls in the realm of acceptable editing – back in my darkroom days there were many dodge +burn sessions) and… this is what I came up with. I had the hood from my 135mm lens on my 50mm which is why you see so much vignetting on the images (I didn’t add that in on the corners). Even though I these didn’t come out perfectly, I like their graphic quality and thought I’d share them with you.

It really has been crazy here – if you’re living through it, I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am. There’s something about the snow that is just so much fun. It makes you feel like a kid since it transforms the world so much. For those of you in the north who have yet to have a snow day… I’m sorry! Truely I am. I would invite you down here if I trusted Virginia drivers in this weather, but I don’t.

Today I drove a north of Harrisonburg to Glenmont Farm; there is so much beautiful farmland in Virgina and Glenmont is no exception. I had a great shoot with Hannah, Gabby, and their horses and here’s a little look at what I captured.

While today’s shoot was great I also have to admit I was exhausted. Let’s just say I had a few phone conversations and most of them started with “did I just wake you up?” Unfortunately that was never the case, I think I just sounded tired all day. Yesterday was our first indoor track meet (as you know my husband coaches xc+track and I am an assistant) and we had a really long day. It was a great meet and I was so glad to be there as I’m obviously not able to make it to all of them since I’ll be shooting weddings.

I feel soo much better today after dinner because we had my favorite meal. It’s been working it’s way up my favorites chart for a while, and I think I’m going to give it the number one spot… at least for winter (do you categorize your food favs by season?). So what is this number one?

Matt’s Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. I know what you’re thinking – oh I like homemade chicken noodle soup too – and although I haven’t tasted your soup, I think mine is better. This recipe is all creamy delicious broth expect for the chicken and homemade – yes, they have to be homemade – noodles. I could eat just the broth it’s so good and packed with flavor and would share it with you if I could. Now, this is totally Matt’s recipe- or at least his adopted recipe since he really found it in Emeril’s Del Monico cookbook and made just a few alternations, so if you want I can share it with you to try at home.

Well I need to get to bed early tonight so I’m productive tomorrow. Off to bed!

ice is so beautiful. we didn’t get that much today, but enough to encase everything in a small layer. If I could write poems I think I would write something to go along with these photos. Maybe I’ll try, but I don’t think I’ll have the confidence to share them!

Looking back at all of the portrait sessions I’ve shot this year, I can’t help but think about all of the people I’ve worked with and met.  So many amazing and talented people that I really am privileged to photograph. Each session has been unique and since currently my focus is in wedding photography portrait sessions tend to work in to my schedule when I’m available – and in town, which means that these sessions have happened throughout the same states I visited for weddings. I love doing them, and actually I feel like there aren’t nearly enough babies represented. There must be something in the water – or maybe I’m just around that age  – but I can name quite a few people (although I won’t on the blog) who are or soon will be pregnant ;) … so I hope that means more gorgeous newborns in my future. Please contact me and let’s talk! (ps. if you received or were referred by someone who received the holiday offer contact me by jan 15 to take advantage of it – you can plan ahead).

Well I enjoy this collection of portraits 2009 – and I would recommend listening to something fun while you’re at it… although I couldn’t decide on what to recommend for you. I’ll leave it up to your music library.

To finish it off, let’s look at where I started – at Meg’s request. This really was my first baby session ever  and it happened in 2007. I was getting started in the business and had the opportunity to photograph her super cute nephew, Andrew. I need to photograph him again I think, which would mean a trip out to Montana… so when should I come out? :)

So, like I was saying this morning I had some of those same peaches for breakfast. Now, on a side note Matt and I been talking about a food blog for a while – although it’s mostly his thing. Something that’s personal and we can share with family and friends (if they’re interested), but most of all we want to chronicle all of the recipes we try and successes and failures so that we can look back on them. I don’t know how many times we’ve wanted to make something again only to spend 20 minutes unsuccessfully looking through food and wine magazines to find what issue the recipe was from. Sure, a blog might not be the easiest way to keep track of all of those recipes, but it will probably be the most fun.

Back to the peaches. They are delicious – if I haven’t said so already – and this morning was no exception. Because of the food blogging I have obviously stepped in as food photographer – although I don’t want to get your hopes up, cause I really haven’t been taking any groundbreaking pictures yet. Especially with cooking, since it can take some time to set things up and document the process while making sure you keep the camera clean. I have yet to figure out a good method for food photography, but I’ll be working on it.

Anyways, I took the peaches out this morning and thinking about how good they are, and I placed them on the counter where some light was streaming in. It made them glow. I grabbed my camera to snap a few shots from the front… and then I went to the side. (this is where I tie the post into photography) While the peaches looked good with the light streaming on them, I couldn’t resist them from the side with the light streaming through them. The back lighting was perfect and a completely different picture from the one I took at the front (as I’m sure you can tell).

Light can transform a photograph. You can use it in so many ways and get different results. I’m not a studio photographer, so in most situations I’m not in control of all of the light. Most of the time (because I work on location in faster paced settings) I work with the light that is given to me and add to it when necessary. It can be more of a challenge to shoot in so many different environments, but I like it because it’s always something new. Just to look back, here are a few different examples I found from my work when I used light in specific ways…

long exposures with different light sources

shooting for some flare

natural light – controlled through windows + doors

silhouettes